Yesterday, I saw this image by Eva O’Leary and was captivated by what I thought was a painting of abstract sparkling lights. Nope. Instead, it is probably one of the most enchanting photographs you will ever see of a parking lot. There is magic (and beautiful light) everywhere. Eva’s shot instantly reminded me of a quote I love:

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” — Roald Dahl

Cassandra Warner and Jeremy Floto of studio Floto+Warner have a true talent for bringing striking colour to natural landscapes. Their 2012 coloured smoke series is simply lovely. Floto+Warner have a new similarly compelling series named “Colourant” featuring vibrant water-based liquids photographed mid-air at a speed of 1/3,200th of a second. The bold splashes are frozen, becoming complex sculptures of colour and gloss. The best part? No Photoshop was used in the making of these bright beauties…

Regularly diligent colour posting has returned. Really. I promise! Lately, whenever I see a flower petal, I think about this stunning recent advertisement for Sony’s new 4k TV (a collaboration between agency McCann, director Jaron Albertin and photographer Nick Meek). The ad features 8 million real petals dusted across a small town in Costa Rica (to symbolize the 8 million pixels utilized by the new tv’s screen). It took two weeks for the team to collect all of the botanical pieces and set up surreal scenes of petals exploding out of a volcano, sprinkling across rooftops, sweeping down streets and pooling in big blocks of colour. The goal was to highlight the sharp display and colour capabilities of the 4k TV. Mission accomplished. I just love the first shot of an everyday street enveloped in vibrant petals. No CGI or robots are needed with imagery like that. There is something simply beautiful about such a purely handmade installation being used to advertise such a technical product. The best work seems to feature dedication to both (and a deep love for colour too)…

This image just makes me happy. Printing press pro Mark Lovejoy uses ink, nails, cheap paint brushes, barbecue skewers and plastic bags to create abstract works of art. He then photographs the colourful results and posts each image to his Tumblr page. So far, this photograph (#0659) is my favourite — swirls of CMYK colours in a sea of white. It somehow feels both digital and handmade…

Oh radishes. I do not enjoy eating you but I do enjoy staring at you. So many vibrant colours and graphic edges. Watermelon radishes, with their green exterior and brilliant pink inside, are particularly striking. And that photograph by Line Klein of a black radish with black pepper? Gorgeous. Dear radishes, I may not find you delicious but there is always room for your good looks on my plate of vegetables…

Happy New Year everyone! I’m excited to start 2014 and hope to share plenty of colourful posts with all of you. For some reason, I always love seeing images of confetti testing in Times Square ahead of the enormous televised event. While it doesn’t have the spectacle (or millions of people) of actual New Year’s Eve, there is something rather magical about a smattering of colour raining down on people as they go about their regular lives. Also, I like the idea that people take vibrant confetti this seriously (the test of “airworthiness” occurs every year on December 29 at 11:00 am from the eighth floor windows of the Times Square Alliance office). On NYE, over one ton of confetti is thrown from various buildings in Times Square. Now, how does one get that gig?

Snow makes such a gorgeous canvas for colour and bold dashes of black. I love this striking yet serene photograph by Miguel Cabezas and the way it captures the beautiful lines created by a walk in fresh winter snow…

Bright colours and natural surfaces – they often appear together in my design dreams. I love this palette of earthy neutrals and vibrant colours created by Rachael Smith and her DIY Painted Stones. Everything is better with a pop of copper, don’t you think?

Designers Dennis Adelmann and Carolin Wanitzek styled these beautiful graphic arrangements for New York startup Food Throttle (a tool focused on selecting special foods for special needs). Playing with your food never looked better than in these colourful culinary installations…

I saw these two photographs by Rachel Jones of Black Eiffel on Instagram and instantly become enamoured with their beautiful colour palettes. While the photos were taken a couple of weeks apart and showcase very different subject matter, they feel so united in shape, tone and vivacious colours on dark backgrounds. Who knew balloons in a pool and farmer’s markets made such dreamy mixtures of hue…

I came across this image crafted by photographer Daniel Lindh and art director Chang Lin and fell in love with the modern styling and palette. Has nail polish ever looked better? I just want to dive into those pools of sultry metallic jewel tones…

I’m a longtime admirer of these chic Brass Paperweights by Daniel Emma. And this photograph by Rodrick Bond is simply beautiful. The cornflower blue wall reflects onto the metallic brass surfaces, creating a lovely new palette of blues and greens…